President Lazarus Chakwera has said the Kenyatta Drive expansion project marks the beginning of his administration’s quest to lift the face of Lilongwe in a manner befitting a nation’s Capital.
Speaking in Lilongwe when he presided over the groundbreaking ceremony of the project, Chakwera described the project as a fulfilment of his promise to build a new Malawi through job creation, wealth creation, and food security.
The President added that investment in infrastructure is an accelerator to national development.
He said: “The advantages of developing a strong and beautiful network of roads within and between our urban centres are many. For a start, it eases the movement of goods, services, and people, thus stimulating economic activity.
“It opens new opportunities for employment and business in many sectors. It saves lives and money by reducing the wear and tear to vehicles that is caused by roads that are poorly constructed.”
In his remarks, board chairperson for the Roads Authority (RA), Joe Ching’ani, spelt his frustrations on the payment and procurement systems in the government saying, it is negatively impacting road projects.
Ching’ani cited the payment system of Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis) and contractors’ scrutinising processes as some of the challenges leading to delay in payment.
He said: “These processes take too long to finalise as a result frustrating the projects speed.”
The project which will include an interchange at the current Kamuzu Central Hospital Roundabout and the improvement of Sharrar Road to a two-lane road in one direction and a single lane in the other direction is being carried out by China Civils.
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